


Warm Hands

by Ghoulboyboos



Series: Anatomy of a Vampire [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, First Date, Fluff, M/M, They go to Disney and eat sandwiches and it's cute, Worldbuilding, confetti, references to praising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 22:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16147124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghoulboyboos/pseuds/Ghoulboyboos
Summary: Shane wears a big, ridiculous straw hat and sunglasses and a hawaiian shirt and he looks so dumb that Ryan’s heart blooms with warm fondness.“You look like a dad on a weekend,” he says as a greeting, laughing brightly as he pulls Shane into a hug. Shane kisses his cheek and Ryan can hear him laugh as well.“It’s my weekend look. Dad at a Theme Park!” He stands up and puts a hand around his mouth like a megaphone. “Come on, kids! If you wanna meet Mickey you have to get a move on or else your pops and I will watch the parade alone!”Ryan laughs and shoves at Shane’s side, willing the blush in his face to go down. It’s silly, but Shane declaring Ryan the other dad just for the little joke is kind of sweet and he would rather not focus too much on it right now. Shane is a little flushed as well and Ryan hopes it’s not the beginning of a sunburn.“Come on, don’t tell me you wouldn’t drag your kids to Disney. Packing a couple of PB&J’s because the snack shops are too expensive and all that.”Ryan automatically puts a hand on his messenger bag.“How- how the fuck did you know?”Shane’s eyes widen behind his sunglasses and then he bursts into laughter.





	Warm Hands

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write more of this AU and the Confetti prompt gave me the chance to write a cute first date situation. Sorry if Shane doesn't seem very vampiric in this one, I still have some stories about them in planning, there will be biting happening again ;D

“I still can’t believe you _banged.”_ Eugene says with a shake of his head before he downs half the beer that Ryan bought for him. “I can’t believe you banged _Shane!”_ Ryan throws a quick glance over his shoulder before he shushes him.

“You don’t have to say it out loud, for fuck’s sake. And it’s not like I planned it!”

“Good! Those are the best ones.” Eugene comments, giving Ryan a wide grin. “Was he any good?”

With a snort, Ryan turns to his own beer. The pub isn’t exactly filled to the brim but there are still people around who might eavesdrop.

“I’m not gonna give you any details, Eugene.” He sips his beer and suddenly feels shy. He is looking down to ignore Eugene's stare. “But… well, we did get along.” When he catches how Eugene lifts his eyebrows, Ryan huffs and adds: “In other ways, too. You were right, we have similar humor and interests and… we’re actually going out on a date this weekend.”

“Oh jeez, Ryan!” Eugene rolls his eyes but Ryan has expected that. Eugene is not exactly the most romantic type. “I thought you were freaked out by the whole thing. Last week you asked me if...” He throws a quick look around. “Those like Shane are _people for fuck’s sake.”_

“Well I didn’t know any better.” Ryan defends himself. “Now I do and I like Shane. I… really like him a lot.” He adds with a flush to his face. Eugene gives him the side-eye.

“Oh wow. You got a full on crush.”

“Shut up.” Ryan wishes his ears didn’t go red but he pretends not to notice as he glares at his glass.

“No, man, that’s cool actually. I mean I thought that you two would get along well but this is beyond my expectation, I’m proud of you. You went out there and got that man!”

Ryan feels a little placated and starts to fight the smile that tries to work its way on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Of course.” Eugene lifts his glass towards him. “Shane’s not my type but he’s not bad looking and you seemed _extremely_ satisfied when you came back last weekend.”

Ryan flushes again and makes sure nobody is listening.

“There is one thing that I need to know, though, Eugene.”

“And that is?”

Eugene suddenly seems suspicious and Ryan understands it. He has asked a lot of bullshit about vampires once Eugene told him about them. Ryan drops his voice.

“Did you ever feel… into the bite when you donated?”

Eugene’s face takes on that slightly lewd smile again.

“I mean. Depends? When the person is hot then yeah, sometimes.”

Ryan feels mortified.

“Is that… bad? I don’t want to… I dunno, fetishize Shane. I like him as a person but I also really liked the biting and I don’t want him to think I’m just dating him for that and-” He lowers his voice even more. “And sex.”

Eugene snorts at that.

“You can be such a sappy, blushing virgin sometimes, man.” Ryan slaps his shoulder and Eugene quickly leans away before he can do it again.

“Hey now, calm down. I’ll help you.” He sits up and lowers his voice for Ryan’s sake. Ryan appreciates it.

“You can easily find out if it’s just the bite. You just have to donate to someone else. If you get off of that, too, you probably have to talk to Shane about your kinks.”

Ryan cringes a bit, but Eugene is right. It’s a good solution to his new problem, even though it could make everything even worse. At least he will know.

“But if I’m not affected? Does that mean Shane has some weird power over me?”

Eugene’s mouth twitches.

“I mean, sure? I’d call it “Ryan has a huge fucking crush on the large weirdo” but you can call it vampire magic if you so desire.”

Ryan flushes again and grumbles in defeat. Eugene is right. Ryan is only fussing so much because he really likes Shane and wants this to go well. Knowing that it’s not just some libido based interest would help a lot.

“Alright,” he finally says. “Can you hook me up with someone else?”

Eugene pulls out his phone and winks.

“Good choice of words.”

Ryan puts his head on the table in front of him and groans.

 

-

 

Shane calls him Friday night and offers to pick Ryan up at noon on Saturday. Ryan is about to ask if Shane would rather go out at night, but then decides not to.  If they meet earlier, maybe they can spend more time together and Ryan’s stomach flips at the thought. 

 

“You said you liked Theme Parks, so I was thinking that we could go to Disney if you want?”

Ryan blinks.

“Are you serious?”

Shane is quiet for a moment, as if taken aback at the question.

“I just… if that’s too cheesy or whatever we can do something else, but I like Disney, it’s fun…”

Ryan feels a smile spread over his face.

“No, it’s- it’s fine. I love the idea, I just thought you might want a more…” He makes a vague noise, hyper aware that he might stereotype again. “Shadowy place?”

Shane on the other side giggles softly.

“Oh, now I get it. I’ll be fine. I’m fed and I have very good sunscreen. And a hat.”

Ryan snorts a laugh and leans back a little on the couch he’s sitting on.

“You’re serious?”

Shane on the other end laughs, too. Ryan hears something like _Again with that question?_ and then the clearing of a throat.

“I can’t really explain how it works, but if we haven’t eaten in a while, our skin gets all weak and papery and then it burns much more easily. We don’t turn to dust, but we get, like, _serious_ burns, like we touched fire or hot metal. It hurts and weakens you, but if I had a good meal, then I’m only a bit weak to sunlight and that can be taken care of with sunscreen with a high SPF.” He laughs at Ryan’s surprised noise. “I’m not messing with you. Legends and stories about Vampires like to overdo stuff a bit, same with the blood drinking. We still have human-sized stomachs, we can’t drink someone dry that easily! I mean, imagine drinking a gallon of soup at once...”

 

Ryan makes a face as he does and the mental image immediately switches to a gallon of blood and he wretches just a little. Shane clears his throat again.

“Sorry that was probably a little too visceral.”

Ryan, despite himself, laughs.

 

-

 

Ryan only fusses a little about what to wear. The marks Shane left are still slightly visible, pale greenish spots of blood that pooled under skin and is now slowly cleaned out by his body. So probably no Lakers jersey. He stands in front of his wardrobe and contemplates. The light pants look good on him and it will be a sunny day, so going for something not too dark is a good idea. Okay, light pants means dark sneakers because white ones will look dumb. Shirt. He needs a shirt.

Ryan starts pushing his clothes on the hangers from left to right and then back. His eyes fall on the short sleeved shirt with the flannel pattern that his friends bought for him. Maybe. It would look nice, but if Shane is wearing flannel they will look so fucking dumb.

Slowly, he narrows his eyes at the shirt. Fuck it, he might as well try. If they both wore flannel at least it would get a laugh out of Shane. There are worse things.

Time to fuss about deodorant and how to style his hair, instead.

 

-

 

Shane wears a big, ridiculous straw hat and sunglasses and a hawaiian shirt and he looks so dumb that Ryan’s heart blooms with warm fondness.

“You look like a dad on a weekend,” he says as a greeting, laughing brightly as he pulls Shane into a hug. Shane kisses his cheek and Ryan can hear him laugh as well.

“It’s my weekend look. Dad at a Theme Park!” He stands up and puts a hand around his mouth like a megaphone. “Come on, kids! If you wanna meet Mickey you have to get a move on or else your pops and I will watch the parade alone!”

Ryan laughs and shoves at Shane’s side, willing the blush in his face to go down. It’s silly, but Shane declaring Ryan the other dad just for the little joke is kind of sweet and he would rather not focus too much on it right now. Shane is a little flushed as well and Ryan hopes it’s not the beginning of a sunburn.

“Come on, don’t tell me you wouldn’t drag your kids to Disney. Packing a couple of PB&J’s because the snack shops are too expensive and all that.”

Ryan automatically puts a hand on his messenger bag.

“How- how the fuck did you know?”

Shane’s eyes widen behind his sunglasses and then he bursts into laughter.

“Really?! Oh _Ryan!_ ”

“Shut up!” Ryan snaps, only a little embarrassed. “As you said, snacks are expensive!”

“But this is a _date,_ Ryan. I’m inviting you! What kind of person would I be making my date pack lunch?”

It’s true, but Ryan still wants to be defensive. He put actual work into them, stood in the kitchen for way longer than he usually does for anything.

“I don’t want to make you buy overpriced sandwiches. I’m merely being considerate.”

“You’re being ridiculous, that’s what you are. But it’s sweet.” Shane pulls him in with an arm around his waist and kisses Ryan’s hair. It’s odd. Ryan’s heart flutters at that because Shane is being _cute_. He feels  excited and very much like this is a first meeting on top of the date, despite everything that had already happened between Shane and him. Apparently having sex on the guy’s couch didn’t prevent you from getting flustered when he compliments you and kisses your hair.

Ryan clears his throat and leans a little into the hug before he pulls away and takes Shane’s hand.

“Come on, then. Let’s get going before all the rides are overrun.”

Shane grins and squeezes Ryan’s hand a little as they make their way to the entry gates.

“I bet you already know the perfect route how to get on rides the quickest, huh?”

Ryan waggles his eyebrows and pulls down his sunglasses a smidge to look at Shane.

“You bet your hat I do! Come on, I’ll show you the best Disney experience.”

Shane laughs but lets Ryan drag him into the colorful fray.

 

-

 

It’s fun.

 

Ryan loves Disneyland but it’s even better exploring it with Shane. He gets to show him all his favorite attractions and they talk and talk and talk. About movies and food and everything else. They go to Space Mountain and on an Indiana Jones Adventure – which almost catapults Shane’s hat off. Ryan drags him to get ice cream afterwards and insists on paying which makes Shane roll his eyes but he complies. While Shane eats his ice cream with a delighted expression, Ryan remembers the guy is a vampire for the first time in hours and it’s suddenly a little weird to run around in the sun and grab ice cream. But then he watches Shane lick a sprinkle out of the corner of his mouth and he laughs a bit and returns the smile Shane is shooting him.

 

“So, you wanna check out the Haunted Mansion?”

 

Over the course of the day, they watch a kid pull Excalibur out of the anvil,  eat the sandwiches Ryan made for lunch, see the rows and rows of children lining up to meet princesses – which kind of warms Ryan’s heart because gosh, that’s cute – and Ryan allows Shane to buy him a proper dinner in one of the restaurants.  He manages to secure them a table outside, so they can watch Paint the Night when it’s starting. Ryan feels positively electric at the beautiful lights in the slowly dimming light of the day and he glances over at Shane to see him not even looking at the parade but instead beaming at  _Ryan_ . His elbow is on the table, his chin in his palm and the way he is smiling is so wide that the fingers in front of his face don't even begin to hide it.  


“You’re gonna miss the show.” Ryan says, a little breathless all of a sudden. Shane chuckles.

“That’s okay. I’m glad you’re having fun, that’s much better.”

Ryan huffs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Flatterer.”

He leans over and presses a quick kiss to Shane’s cheek. His cheeks are warm and despite the lights, Ryan can see that they are a bit reddened.

“Did you spend too much time in the sun?” He’s suddenly getting worried that Shane puts himself in danger just to have a nice day with Ryan.

 

Shane seems a little embarrassed.

“Maybe. Not too much to cause any problems, I just need to rest a bit later.” He rubs his cheek and Ryan is about to protest when the float nearby shoots giant confetti cannons in the air. Thousands and thousands of bits of rainbow colored paper rains through the air and Ryan is suddenly glad they already finished their food because more than one piece lands on their table. Shane laughs and takes his hat which had been lying upside down on the table and puts it on with a swift motion.

Some of the confetti rains out of it and showers his shoulders and he gives Ryan such a ridiculous look that he seems like he jumped straight out of some slapstick movie.

Ryan presses a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter but it comes out as a giggle and now it's him who can’t hide the huge smile on his face. Shane flushes and grins at him and Ryan really wants to kiss him a lot. Maybe not here.

 

After Shane pays, they are walking towards the exit with their hands linked. Ryan feels Shane’s eyes on him and looks up.

“You still got confetti stuck to your hair.” Shane says as he realizes that Ryan caught him staring again. He reaches up with their linked hands and brushes his fingertips through Ryan’s hair. Ryan sighs a bit at the soft touch.

“Well, I bet you still got some in your hat.”

“I sure do. It’s mine now, I stole it fair and square.”

Ryan snorts.

“You’re so weird. But in a funny way.”

“Good.”

“Do you need to rest now? Or… I mean, I don’t know-” Ryan starts to ramble a bit, not really having anything prepared but Shane saves him from the embarrassment.

“It’s not like I need to recover from an illness or anything, I’m fine. And... I don't really feel like saying bye, yet, soo... Do you want to hang out at my place?”

Ryan doesn’t miss that Shane looks away when he asks and he really wishes he was less awkward about it, but there is probably no way to invite your date over after the actual date is over without making it sound like you’re hoping for something to happen.

Well, whatever happens, Ryan is cool with it.

“Sure! We can watch something if you want. Maybe commit a crime and watch something non-Disney or-”

“Road to El Dorado.” Shane says immediately and Ryan laughs.

“Awesome, I like that one.”

 

-

 

They sit on Shane’s couch, surrounded by snacks and Ryan is again surprised how much Shane likes _food_. He originally doesn’t want to ask, but Shane catches him staring as he shoves a handful of popcorn in his mouth and he seems a bit sheepish at that, so Ryan does ask.

“It’s not a psychological thing.” Shane says once he swallowed. Ryan frowns.

“Why would I think that?”

Shane shrugs.

“Well, some… people like me eat and drink because it makes them feel, uh, “human”, I guess. I don’t feel very inhuman, so I don’t need food to feel like that.”

“Then… why do you eat? You could save the money.”

Shane grins.

“It still tastes really good. And if you had a rough day, chocolate still gets your spirits up, a baby carrot still makes you feel like you’re doing something for your body and popcorn is still the best thing in the entire universe.”

Ryan laughs, loud and bold and he sees Shane smile brightly at him and suddenly, he feels shy.

“Sorry.”

Shane blinks at that.

“Sorry for what?”

“I get… loud. Got problems controlling my volume sometimes.”

Shane scoffs and shakes his head.

“I like your laugh. I don’t care how loud you are.” He gives Ryan a lopsided smirk. “I like how loud you can get.”

“Wow, cheeky.” Ryan says, clearing his throat. He notices that he's a bit embarrassed, but at least Shane seems flustered as well. For some time, they just sit and watch the movie. When the popcorn is empty, Shane slowly slips an arm around Ryan’s shoulders and Ryan leans in, his head against Shane’s shoulder and their sides pressed together.

 

-

 

“I got a story to tell you.” Ryan says, because “I have to tell you something” and “There is something you need to know” sound terrifying.

“What’s up?” Shane says. He made more popcorn for Ryan and Ryan is starting to feel a little inadequate with how much Shane takes care of him.

 

“My friend Eugene, you know, the guy who got me into the project?” Shane nods. “We went to donate this week, for a married couple, the Habersberger’s. I… don’t know if you know them? Not that I imply all vampires know each other just-”

Shane laughs and holds up a hand to calm Ryan’s rant.

“I know Keith and Becky, yes. Keith is an old friend.”

“Oh,” Ryan says, “cool. So, anyway. One of the reasons I did that was… Uh… you remember how I got… _affected_ by your bite?”

Shane swallows and rubs the back of his neck.

“Of course- of course I remember that.”

“So… I was curious if- if it was a _bite_ thing or if it was a _you_ thing and-”

 

Ryan tells him everything. His initial nervousness when he arrived with Eugene. The way Becky and Keith offered them snacks and drinks that made him remember  his time at Shane’ s and actually helped calming him. Becky offering Ryan to drink from the crook of his elbow while Eugene just fucking dropped his pants and threw his leg over the back of the couch, presenting the inside of his thigh to Keith who just rolled his eyes in return. How  Ryan was sitting closer to Becky to watch her fangs grow. He tells Shane  that he had thought it was just their canines growing longer  and how instead he had jumped a little when he saw a second pair slip out  of the gums above them and stretching down , covering the human canines completely. Ryan even tells Shane that he had yelped, just a tiny little bit, which gains him a chuckle, but an understanding pat on the leg. Then, Ryan talks about h ow Becky’s bite hadn’t felt much different than Shane’s. The same piercing sensation followed by dull pressure  and numbness . The way he could feel his heartbeat through the bite and that he could tell whenever Becky swallowed, even though he couldn’t hear it  and her face had been hidden by her hair .  Ryan recalls  feeling the same way, as if his entire body  lit up at the feeling and how he could imagine having full awareness of where every single blood cell in his body  i s. There _had been_ a thrum of excitement.  


 

He finally stops, looking up at Shane, waiting.

“So? What’s your verdict?” Shane asks carefully.

Ryan pushes his sleeve back and looks at the little mark in the crook of his elbow. He smiles.

“It’s still kind of extreme and I might be into it. But the overwhelming, fucking _powerful_ feeling I got from you biting me? Definitely a _you_ thing.”

He grins when Shane’s face lights up.

“Really?”

Ryan shrugs.

“I guess it was you being there and being close. You taking care of me. You being good and sweet and kind of wonderful-”

He sees Shane’s ears redden and laughs. Ryan wraps his arms around Shane’s neck and pulls him into a kiss.

“I need to tell you how great you are more often,” he mutters against Shane’s mouth. “Until you believe me.”

“I do believe you.” Shane says softly. “It’s just… strangely exciting. _Must be a you thing.”_

Ryan laughs, loud and clear and pulls Shane in to kiss him more.

 

-

 

They make out on Shane’s couch, keeping their hands over the belt for now. Still, Ryan wants closeness, so he slips his hands under Shane’s shirt and strokes his back while their tongues rub against each other softly and Ryan thinks about flipping them over and bracing himself over Shane for a change. But Shane’s broad hands are on his side and he is still nice and warm and Ryan can’t help but be impressed by that. It’s relaxing and he feels so comfortable where he’s lying that he could just stay there forever.

 

He hums as Shane trails soft kisses down the side of his neck.

“I still think it’s amazing that you’re warm… and I guess all the other things, like you breathing and… stuff.” He trails off lamely.

Shane chuckles and sits up a little.

“I mean… there is a lot we don’t really have to do, like we don’t need to breathe for _oxygen_. But, you know, lungs and vocal chords are still a thing and you need air if you want to talk.” He shrugs. “And it also is weird and a huge giveaway if someone just doesn’t _breathe._ The warmth, well…” Shane looks a bit shy. “This one comes from you. I think I mentioned that.”

“Yeah.” Ryan looks up at him and then slowly sits up, pulling his feet under him to battle Shane’s ridiculous height a bit. “Do you want to feed tonight? You put yourself through some strain today, right?”

Shane shakes his head.

“I didn’t ask you out because I wanted to feed tonight. I asked you out because I wanted to take you on a date, because I like you.” He smiles a little. “I like taking care of the people I like.”

“I know that.” Ryan shuffles a little closer. “I feel very taken care of if that helps,” he adds with a grin and leans up to kiss Shane’s cheek. The other man practically purrs and the smile on his face is so bright that Ryan’s stomach flutters. “But I would like it if I could do something for you in return.”

Shane looks at him thoughtfully and then wraps his long arms around Ryan and pulls him with as he lies down. Shane stretches out and Ryan lies on his chest, arms pillowing his chin so he doesn’t dig it into Shane’s sternum and Shane puts an arm behind his head so he can look at Ryan. His free hand comes up and runs through Ryan’s hair.

“I wouldn’t mind if you stayed a little.” He says softly and when Ryan blinks in surprise, he adds: “Not like… for anything in particular. I just want to spend more time with you.”

Ryan feels warmth in his face and he really has to get himself in check with that because he plans on seeing Shane on the regular and he can’t just constantly blush around him. Before it gets too embarrassing however, Shane laughs and pulls a little blue slip of confetti out of Ryan’s hair.

“This stuff is really persistent.”

Ryan laughs too and takes it from Shane, rolling the glittering paper between his fingers with a wide grin.

“Maybe I’ll keep that one, as a souvenir.”

“There’s probably still more in my hat.” Shane cranes his neck to where he dropped it on the coffee table. “I could move and grab it for you.”

“Yeah, no chance, big guy.” Ryan says and tries to relax all his muscles so his dead weight pushes down on Shane. The man underneath him laughs at that and stays where he is.

 

Ryan actually is close to dozing off at some point with Shane’s hand rubbing slow circles on his back and both of them listening to whatever channel Shane flipped to on the TV.

“So,” Shane hums, “any other questions you still have? I could hear you thinking all day, you know.”

Ryan chuckles against Shane’s shirt.

“Hm. I guess I’ll always have a bunch of questions about this because, hey I don’t know shit. I guess….” He thinks for a moment before looking up at Shane. “What I’m most curious about is… why do vampires have such a bad rep, man? I met three so far and you’re all really nice.” He grins. “ _You_ especially are more than just nice.”

Shane chuckles and Ryan notices with delight how flattered he looks.

“Well, not everyone is. You see...” He shifts a bit, just enough so he can look at Ryan without craning his neck too much. “When you get turned, you get this sense… it’s like some primal shit, hard to describe. It’s really chill and subdued if you feed regularly and learn to pace yourself. Your senses get a little heightened and that’s it. But- Well-”

Shane bites his bottom lip and rubs his forehead. Suddenly he doesn’t look comfortable anymore and Ryan could kick himself for asking.

“If you go for a while without feeding, that primal part wants to take over. It keeps sort of… knocking on the backdoor of your brain. Like, _Hey buddy, you seem really stressed and hungry and weak, I know how to fix that_ and after a while it gets stronger and stronger. That’s what I experienced. Once. I fed in time but the moment I tasted… you know, I nearly lost it. For a second all I wanted was to drain the person I was feeding off and I could have done it, I really could have. That fucked me over. A lot. I mean there were people around who would have stopped me and all, but still-” He closes his eyes, no, wrenches them shut and pinches the base of his nose. “I could have killed this person. A tiny part of me wanted to. That part was really fucking excited about it, it yearned for the feeling of draining someone to death, because that is where true strength lies... and that’s what makes us dangerous, you know.”

He finally looks at Ryan again, forehead pulled into a frown. Shane looks like he’s scared Ryan will bolt, so Ryan starts to rub his hand up and down Shane’s arm, hoping it’s reassuring.

“Basically,” Shane’s tone turns a little detached, “some people let that part take over. They hand off all control and just become this… beast. They masquerade as everyday people, not even as friendly vampires, just as your random neighbor who definitely does not want your blood... and they wait and wait until they are hungry enough for it to burst out. If you can believe the stories, the more you do it, the more you can consume. So, someone might starve themselves for a month to go on a rampage. Afterwards, it might be three weeks, then two… You see where this is going?”

Ryan swallows.

“But… people would notice, right? People would go missing and-”

Shane looks tired.

“How many people go missing every day without anyone ever hearing of them again? There aren’t _millions_ of us and even if, the number of those who are really dangerous is relatively small. But those are the vampires that get noticed… The ones that end up in stories.”

Ryan swallows. Suddenly, the whole room feels a little cold, so he buries himself in Shane’s arms, getting closer to the warmth that he knows is just what Shane borrowed from him. He still doesn’t care about that. Maybe he likes it, even.

Shane seems almost surprised as Ryan gets closer and slowly, carefully starts petting his hair.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have told you. I assure you, I’d never-”

“I know.” Ryan interrupts softly. “I’m glad you told me. I gotta admit, the more I learned, the more I thought _Why don’t all people do this?_ , because hey, sure, you gotta drink blood, but you get stronger and such and you don’t turn to ash in the sun and the whole other shit is probably all urban legends too…”

Shane chuckles against his hair.

“Some things are kinda true.”

“Well, okay.” Ryan laughs. “We can talk about that later. But I guess I wasn’t expecting that this could be so… bad for you.” He allows himself to sigh deeply as Shane starts petting the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Shane. I went on and on about the biting and how cool if weird this stuff is and all the time-”

“Hey now.” This time it’s Shane interrupting Ryan. “Don’t worry. You didn’t know, first of all and also: I’m good. I’m glad you’re not scared of me, because I don’t want that. I just wanted you to know why we’re in the underground and all… because some people out there know of us and they would very much prefer us not to exist at all.”

“Like...” Ryan stares at him, flabbergasted. “Like vampire hunters? Slayers?!”

Shane chuckles a bit.

“To be fair, Buffy is still kickass. But… yeah, I guess. There are people out there who hunt vampires. Who don’t care how we live, they just don’t want to take any chances. To some extend, I get it, even.”

Ryan almost smacks him against the chest.

“Get it?! Shane, those are killers! You can’t just murder an entire… species or whatever just because there are a few bad eggs.”

“Hey now, I know that!” Shane brings up his hands in defense. “They aren't _killers_ , at least I never heard of that. But... well, they tend to make living in their area bad so someone like me has to move a lot so we can be left alone... which sucks, true, but... I’m just saying I get why people wouldn’t trust us. If any of us ever experiences a dry spell, they might lose it and if it happens once, it can happen again. That’s why the project and the USAVA exist in the first place. To prevent this shit from happening. If I went a while without feeding, someone would call me up and remind me. Or check if I’m okay. It helps me stay in line and in return, nobody has to put out a manhunt for Shane Madej, armed, confused and dangerous.”

Ryan wrinkles his nose. He still doesn’t like the fact that people like Shane are apparently on the hit list of some wannabe slayers, but he can’t really do anything about that now. Instead he takes Shane’s hand and starts to softly brush his lips over the back of his fingers.

“I’m sorry that I brought the mood down. Even if I didn’t know, I’m still sorry. I feel like I ruined or date.”

Shane scoffs and tugs Ryan closer so he can kiss him. It’s slow and soft and Ryan sighs as they part.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ryan.” Shane murmurs. “I had a lot of fun and I’m still having fun.” He moves a little and Ryan wants to open his eyes, but Shane is so warm and comfortable…

Suddenly, there is a rustling noise and Ryan looks up just in time to see the straw hat in Shane’s hands being tipped. Quite a bit of the bright, sparkly Disney confetti pours out over Ryan’s head and he is about to shake it off and escape, but Shane grabs him tightly and holds him against his chest and Ryan can feel him laughing from the vibration in his chest as he yelps and tries to struggle free.

“Look, it’s a parade, Ryan.” He says, cheeky grin in place and Ryan snorts, grabs a handful of the stuff and throws it in the guy’s face.

“You’re a menace.” He says and Shane grins and pokes out the tip of his tongue through his teeth.

“You like it.”

“Unfortunately I do.” Ryan grumbles and pulls Shane into another kiss.

 

-

 

Shane drives him home, even though Ryan says he doesn’t have to. When they reach Ryan’s apartment, they idle a bit with the radio turned low and the engine off.

 

“So.” Shane finally says. “I hope this was a good first date.”

“It was great.” Ryan says, not wanting to ruin the moment with a biting joke.

Shane smiles at him.

“Cool. I had a lot of fun.” He smiles at Ryan. “Would you like to go out again?”

“Sure!” Ryan smiles brightly. “I could drag you to some indoor activity for a change?”

Shane snorts.

“You’re not gonna get me to see a Lakers game, are you?”

“Nooooo,” Ryan says slowly, innocently and Shane rolls his eyes with a fond expression. Ryan decides he definitely has to get Shane to see a game one day. Right now, however, he is ready to make slightly different plans. “We could go see a movie, how about that.” Ryan suggests and he sees Shane’s eyes light up.

“I’m in.”

“Good. I’ll text you the details.” Ryan leans over the console and gives Shane a lingering kiss. He could break the rule of the first date and invite him up, it’s not like they haven’t done most of this backwards yet, but when he pulls back, Shane puts a hand on his cheek and smiles.

“Goodnight, Ryan.”

Maybe it’s better to take things slow for now, Ryan muses, trying not to be too disappointed.

“’Night, Shane.”

Shane presses a kiss to the side of his neck and Ryan feels his pulse speed up a little.

“Have a good Sunday.”

Ryan thinks he can see a bit of a smirk on Shane’s face and he could let him know that he’s being a bastard, but instead he just winks – he needs to practice that more – and gets out of the car.

He waves back at Shane when he opens the door of his apartment complex and Shane waves back.

 

Later, when Ryan pulls his shirt off, several pieces of confetti fall out and rain down on his bathroom floor. He swipes them up and puts them on his nightstand, sentimental enough to not throw them out right away.


End file.
